TNN

Hyderabad, Sep 20: Andhra Pradesh renewed its battle with neighbouring Karnataka for supremacy in the region by aggressively renewing its offer to the Tatas to exit Singur in West Bengal and set up their Nano small car project plant in the state for which the state Congress government is ready to give 1,000 acres of land.

B Sam Bob, principal secretary, industry, told TOI that a Tata team of officials is expected to come to Hyderabad very shortly to take forward the state’s proposal. “They have said so in a letter to the state on September 16.

Ravi Kant (managing director of Tata Motors) had gone to Bangalore on Thursday. We expect them (senior Tata Motors’ officials) to come to Hyderabad soon,” he said and added that locations have been identified for the possible location of the plant.

Karnataka on Thursday had offered 1,000 acres of land to the Tatas and became the latest state to woo the automaker, which is facing rough weather in West Bengal following stiff resistance from the Trinamool Congress over the land acquisition for Nano project at Singur.

Around 10 days ago, Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy had written to the Tatas inviting them to set up the Nano plant in the state. And the company replied on Tuesday indicating that Andhra Pradesh is among the states that the auto major is considering to relocate its project in case it pulls out of West Bengal.

Maharashtra and Uttarakhand are the other states in the Nano-wooing race.

According to Bob, Andhra Pradesh is better placed to bag the project among the various states inviting Nano as Caparo Engineering, one of the major auto part makers contracted to supply inner steel panels to Nano, has already taken 2,000 acres of land in the state. He said the state government has identified land for Nano at a few places in Nellore district including Tada and Naidupet, where Caparo is located, and in Kakinada in East Godavari district. These sites are chosen as proximity to a port is one of the criteria Tata Motors is looking for to relocate Nano. Locations in Medak and Warangal are also being shortlisted for the small car.

What would also be in the state’s favour is that it has not seen any major agitation over land acquisitions for special economic zones so far. “AP is completely open to offering every assistance and facility that Tata Motors would want if the company decides to relocate Nano to the state,” said Bob.

He said the state is ready to match the incentives that WB offered or what any other state is offering. As for additional sops on offer, he said “depends on what the Tatas ask for”. If AP bags Nano, it would be the first big auto project in the state. And it is also a prestige issue for the state, considering it had earlier lost the Volkswagen project to Maharashtra at the last minute.